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Start your free trialAndy Stevens
Front End Web Development Techdegree Graduate 20,417 PointsWhat’s the difference between a method and constructor in Java? They seem very similar and this keeps tripping me up.
I’m new to OOP, while I understand the concept my biggest stumbling block is definitely methods and constructors. Does anyone have any suggestions of learning strategies I can use to solidify my understanding?
1 Answer
Ezekiel dela Peña
6,231 PointsThe main difference between method and constructor is
Constructor can only be called when you are creating an instance of object.
public class Game {
// This is a constructor
public Game() {
}
// This is a method
public void sampleMethod() {
}
}
NOTE: by default when creating a class even if you didn't write a constructor, Java will do it for you.
Example:
Game game = new Game(); // <--- this how you create an instance of for example a Game.
Now remember how do you usually call a method?
game.Game(); // This will not work since Game() is a constructor which should only be called when creating an instance
Now a method is something you could call after creating an instance.
game.sampleMethod();
Andy Stevens
Front End Web Development Techdegree Graduate 20,417 PointsAndy Stevens
Front End Web Development Techdegree Graduate 20,417 PointsSo you use a constructor to initialise an object and a method to call it?